http://www.ultraswank.net Retro Living and Design from the 50s, 60s and 70s Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:59:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-mens-bacardi-fueled-fantasies/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-mens-bacardi-fueled-fantasies/#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:36:08 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=3568 While the rest of the Sterling Cooper staff attends a Kentucky Derby party thrown by Roger Sterling and new wife Jane, Peggy and the other writers are stuck in the office to brainstorm ideas for the Bacardi campaign. Bacardi is looking for five vacation situations for their overall concept “Daiquiri Beach.” Peggy and the boys [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-mens-bacardi-fueled-fantasies/feed/ 0 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/charles-schriddes-vision-of-the-future/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/charles-schriddes-vision-of-the-future/#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:29:18 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=3153 Charles Schridde’s illustrations from the early 1960s for Motorola is a great example of the future that never was. The ads were often featured in Life Magazine and depicted a lush, comfy and elegant future, conveniently centered around various Motorola products. I for one, wouldn’t mind living in a pad like the ones Mr. Schridde [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/charles-schriddes-vision-of-the-future/feed/ 3 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-diet-cola-and-the-female-form/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-diet-cola-and-the-female-form/#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:14:59 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=3134 Since the turn of the 20th century, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been fighting to capture the hearts and taste buds of America’s youth. Fifty years into the great carbonation beverage battle, cola companies decided to look for new opportunities and target demographics. In an attempt to lure in diabetics, the cola companies began developing and [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-diet-cola-and-the-female-form/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/christmas-gets-endorsed-by-celebrities/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/christmas-gets-endorsed-by-celebrities/#comments Mon, 20 Dec 2010 06:50:26 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2947 When snow covers the ground and the days get shorter, you know it’s time to celebrate the winter holidays and spread cheer and good will. Even celebrities can’t resist the action, lending their talent and likeness to all manners of Christmas merriment. Popular personalities of stage, screen and song deliver messages of joy in the [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/christmas-gets-endorsed-by-celebrities/feed/ 2 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-lucky-strike-celebrate-a-toasted-christmas/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-lucky-strike-celebrate-a-toasted-christmas/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2010 06:07:38 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2923 As we see more and more public spaces become smoke-free, it’s easy to forget that smoking wasn’t always considered hazardous. In the days when it was socially acceptable to smoke, cigarettes were advertised on television and endorsed by popular celebrities and cartoon characters. A carton of cigarettes was considered an appropriate gift for children to [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-lucky-strike-celebrate-a-toasted-christmas/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-ponds-question-whether-a-clean-face-leads-to-matrimony/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-ponds-question-whether-a-clean-face-leads-to-matrimony/#comments Sat, 13 Nov 2010 11:29:59 +0000 Katharine Miller http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2803 As of 1965, women’s liberation has not yet pervaded mainstream culture. In season four of Mad Men, we get a taste of what’s to come as women become more independent and empowered. Despite the increase in seemingly independent women, including budding feminist, copywriter Peggy Olsen, most of the ladies inhabiting fictional 1960s NYC are marriage-minded [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/mad-men-and-ponds-question-whether-a-clean-face-leads-to-matrimony/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/the-secret-life-of-machines/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/the-secret-life-of-machines/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 05:28:19 +0000 James Vaughan http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2114 Fellow fans of Ultra Swank are well aware that we are revelers in a cultural period of technology supreme. Be it Hi-Fi or Hydrogen Bomb if it had push buttons and chrome it was an object of desire! Few artists captured this ‘age of the machine’ better than Boris Artzybasheff (1899-1965). Immigrating from Russia to [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/the-secret-life-of-machines/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/future-forcaster-radebaugh/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/future-forcaster-radebaugh/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:45:01 +0000 James Vaughan http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=2074 “Closer Than We Think!” shouts the headline. It looks like a comic and probably ran in the funnies section of the Sunday Chicago Tribune and it’s affiliates. During the late 1950′s and early 1960′s artist Arthur Radebaugh forecast a soon to be techno-future of magical and fantastic innovation. As a regular feature in widespread newspaper [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/future-forcaster-radebaugh/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/classic-hand-drawn-car-ads-from-the-us/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/classic-hand-drawn-car-ads-from-the-us/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:37:04 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1816 Found a whole bunch of really nice vintage American car advertisements from the 1950s and 1960s in the Ultra Swank Flickr Group. Wish Detroit still would do classic hand drawn illustrations like this today for their cars. Which is your favorite American mid century car and why?]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/classic-hand-drawn-car-ads-from-the-us/feed/ 6 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/sexist-vintage-ads/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/sexist-vintage-ads/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:12:45 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1186 Not that Ultra Swank condones being sexist, it just sometimes amazes me what kind of stuff advertising agencies were able to pull off around the 1950s. Here are some fine examples of American ads of the times that takes a punch at women only being good for being secretaries, housewives and objects of beauty. Even [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/sexist-vintage-ads/feed/ 4 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/retro-future-from-motorola/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/retro-future-from-motorola/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:14:37 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=1096 I always found the Motorola TV ads from Taschen’s book All-American Ads of the 60s very unique. They feel so retro but still very futuristic at the same time and I love the way they portray the future in such a optimistic and bright way that was only possible in the mid 20th century. The [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/retro-future-from-motorola/feed/ 7 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/the-worlds-creamiest-lipstick/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/the-worlds-creamiest-lipstick/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:35:41 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=944 For all you ladies out there, here are a few scans of retro Revlon advertisements for lipstick and makeup. Revlon was started back in 1932 and are most famous for their Dorian Leigh and Suzy Parker advertisements in the 1950s. “Not a prissy pink… not a sissy pink” and “Fire and ice” are two of [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/the-worlds-creamiest-lipstick/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/vintage-volvos/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/vintage-volvos/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:43:11 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/?p=715 Moving back to Sweden again for a while and more specifically to the Swedish automotive industry. For those who aren’t in the know, Sweden has two major brands; Volvo and Saab. Today we are going back to the mid 1950s to look at how the advertisements for model 121 also known as the Amazon were [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/vintage-volvos/feed/ 1 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/welcome-to-the-world-of-twa/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/welcome-to-the-world-of-twa/#comments Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:58:00 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/uncategorized/welcome-to-the-world-of-twa/ Here’s a glimpse into the wonderful world of now defunct Trans World Airlines (TWA). I love the catchy and somewhat cheesy 1960s theme song! The video could use some color correction obviously seeing it has degraded quite a lot over the years, but who cares. Following that video is a promotion of Boeing’s new 747 [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/welcome-to-the-world-of-twa/feed/ 5 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/a-wonderful-new-world-of-fords/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/a-wonderful-new-world-of-fords/#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:55:00 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/uncategorized/a-wonderful-new-world-of-fords/ Enjoy this fun and swanky Ford commercial from 1960 linking new compact cars to futurism and the space frontier. They don’t make commercials like this anymore, do they? If you like this, there is a ton of more of old commericals and archive footage to be found in the Prelinger Archives at the ever so [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/a-wonderful-new-world-of-fords/feed/ 7 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/does-your-airline-offer-this/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/does-your-airline-offer-this/#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:11:00 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/uncategorized/does-your-airline-offer-this/ More airline retro goodness from a TWA commercial made in the early 1970s. Looks cheesy but still delicious in some odd way.]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/does-your-airline-offer-this/feed/ 2 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/attention-all-customers/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/attention-all-customers/#comments Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:48:00 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/uncategorized/attention-all-customers/ I am not only interested in vintage design, architecture, lounge music and umm… stewardesses but also graphic design and typography seeing it has been my major subject in college and what what I work with for a living in a way. One thing that caught my attention lately are those old handwritten posters and placates [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/attention-all-customers/feed/ 6 http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/fly-the-friendly-skies/ http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/fly-the-friendly-skies/#comments Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:48:00 +0000 Chris http://www.ultraswank.net/uncategorized/fly-the-friendly-skies/ Remember what is was like before Southwest Airlines? Well, I don’t. But it looks all good to me. Here are two early 1970s ads from the Dallas based airline Southwest Airlines and Miami based National Airlines. Both rather sexist, created to attract the attention of male passengers using tightly fitted outfits on the stewardesses along [...]]]> http://www.ultraswank.net/advertising/fly-the-friendly-skies/feed/ 0